Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. Come out and say player x is better than player y and people will read that as you saying player y is crap. Weve lost all our nuance. Another reason for his struggles is that McTominay rarely takes the ball on the half turn or turns with the ball. Don't release players because they are too small because you never know - they might just grow an extra 10 inches. After the Southampton match I saw this thread talking about Bruno Fernandes game. At LifeBogger, we strive for accuracy and fairness in our quest to deliver you Scottish Football Stories. Dwight Yorke has told Man Utd duo Fred and Scott McTominay that it is time to "stand up" and "earn their money" over the next few weeks. Two points really stood out to me. If youre Erik Ten Hag, you have room to recognize all that McTominay has to offer before harping on about the six misplaced passes he makes on a per 90 basis. United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer decided to withdraw the 24-year-old Scottish midfielder before half-time by bringing on Anthony Martial in his place. The things I wrote in December are annoyingly still true in July. He smartly selects moments to venture forward and contribute to the attack, looking for spaces to exploit the oppositions back-line in those right-half-spaces, before receiving a progressive pass. The Brazilian is the first defensive midfielder United have signed since the summer of 2017, when they acquired Nemanja Matic. Don't wait until half time Ole.". LifeBogger presents the Full Story of a Scottish Football Genius who is best known by the Nickname; The Future. One area of McTominays game that has visibly improved since the change in manager at Manchester United is his positioning. At the end of last season McTominays effort and passion really stood out in a team where most players lacked effort and passion. The Scotland international ran 5.03k in 16 minutes, 1 second - and would have . Most of us, including myself, are guilty of this. In the year of or lord 2020 with footballers paid 100k a week these highly paid athletes achieving a college middle distance time puts Scott as one of the best in the Prem by miles. When he came off after 63 minutes United had nine shots for an xG of 1.00. What Scott McTominay dislikes:Clingy people, being constrained and off-the-wall theories. It didnt take Mati long to show us the results of playing the ball quickly even if your initial pass doesnt connect, you give the forwards a chance to press, win the ball back, and go on a break. Enter your email to receive new posts delivered directly to your inbox! Scott McTominay has earned a total of 15,554,240, Scott McTominay plays for Manchester United in the Premier League. See terms at draftkings.com/sportsbook. The rest, as they say, is now history. Playing in a three requires more attack-minded midfielders. The reasons McTominay plays ahead of Casemiro are linked to a word automatisms that Ten Hag used before Uniteds victory over Leicester City last week. What is McTominay doing or rather, what isnt he doing? Physically present in AZ/CO/CT/IL/IN/IA/KS/LA (select parishes)/MA/MD/MI/NH/NJ/NY/OH/OR/PA/TN/VA/WV/WY only. They no longer need passion and energy to mask a lack of talent. All I have ever known is United and I hope that my passion for the club shows every time I go onto the pitch. Playing passes like this doesnt move defenses around. Required fields are marked *. Its a bit of what the top midfield players of the past were. Of course, its still early days for Casemiro at Old Trafford, but the 30-year-old has still to start a Premier Marcus Rashford had come into his own as a leader. 6 Scott McTominay made his senior debut in 2017 For the time being, he nicely performs that half-baked 6/8 role well for Ten Hags team, and could realistically fulfill either slot in any formation, whilst also possessing the ability to play centre-back if youre in a pinch. By crowding the defenders in this manner, he provides extra support to ensure the defensive line can be the last line in defense, and that he can continue to step up before the situation becomes dire. Warren and Paul McGuinness were really good with me at that time, nurturing me and putting me in and out of training sessions while not giving me so much game time. Your email address will not be published. Mason Greenwood came back from lockdown a completely different and more advanced player. There's a bit of irony in the fact you disregard McTominay and then say Fletcher was underrated. The Danes arrival has reduced the need for McTominay to progress the ball from central midfield (as a passer). "I look in the mirror, I look to my team . Beyond that, McTominays other borderline exceptionality occurs on long passes, which he completes on a relatively infrequent degree. Odds and lines subject to change. McTominay is playing well because he has fewer playing responsibilities compared to previous seasons, and he is going about those responsibilities well. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); See all of our analyses in one place, and search for what youre looking for! He will hurry, shuffle and shuttle off the ball like his life depends on it. This United team has been evolving all season. You want to get into routines. It doesnt take long for you to know hes there, even if nothing really comes of his actions. He has to get used to my way of playing football. Ten Hag had claimed that the Scot could be fit to return in the recent trip to . Hes not an elite level scanner, and so that manifests in two key issues. As soon as McTominay gets this ball, Mason Greenwood breaks to the middle of the pitch, but McTominay never even turns and looks at him, despite not being under any pressure. Now without further ado, lets Begin. Get him off the pitch ffs. In many ways, @EBL2017s tweet is the kind of sentiment I like to see on Twitter. McTominay is playing with confidence and Casemiro wont find it easy to dislodge him. His touch map from the game demonstrates his all-action value to the team. At one point he could have played a pass straight through the line to Greenwood. Scott McTominay has been warned by his family about the negative side effects of exposing his personal life online at this early and critical stage of his career. That means he often simply plays the way hes facing. The midfielder also completed 90 minutes on Sunday with a 100 per cent pass completion rate. Whilst I understand that we all have so many other things to think about at the moment, Im so happy to sign this contract and play a part in the future ahead for this team. It could just be with the right-footed Timothy Fosu-Mensah replacing the left-footed Luke Shaw that Solskjaer cant have both his fullbacks bombing forward. Can you handle yourself in a midfield battle? His passing percentage from range ranks within the top 9% of footballers in Europes top five leagues, with a success rate of 81.8%. During his time at Ajax, Ten Hag preferred to stick rather than twist with his starting line-ups for league duties and McTominay has greater knowledge of the automatisms required in Ten Hags side than Casemiro. Carl Anka is a journalist covering Manchester United for The Athletic. McTominay makes a lot of mental mistakes. And a few poor performances doesn't warrant the hate he gets cause he's still a kid learning to cope with first team football. Isn't a great excuse for him because he's supposed to try things it's just knowing when and the execution let's him down, we mustn't be afraid to point out the flaws in players games. -> Contact By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. What Scott McTominay likes:Jose Mourinho, Freedom, travel, philosophy, being outdoors. The Scotland international is physically imposing, but lacks the technical ability to move the ball quickly in the centre of the pitch. McTominay was born in England but has Scottish ancestry. People thought he could be a Darren Fletcher type player for us. Again, the natural lack of elegance in his lanky frame and uncultured style of play fools some into thinking hes not solid when it comes to the defensive side. The timing knowing when you have to play quick, knowing when to be patient is what McTominay needs to develop. Adding players like Jadon Sancho or Jack Grealish this summer will only further speed up that evolution. Since McTominays injury, Ashley Young had departed. In an recent interview, Ander Hererra praised the versatility of the midfielder. What these players remind me of is the little key ring that keeps all the keys together. Hes improving upon his level of disguise when receiving the ball, and his close control is also growing with his confidence under Erik Ten Hag. Since the lockdown that evolution has happened at an even faster rate. But Zaha plays a ball out wide and as the ball is rolling to his teammate United have time to track back and regroup. He was saying that when United take a while to get into a game, the Old Trafford crowd can get restless and even start to turn on the team. Even Anthony Martial, whose attitude and effort levels had previously been questioned, was now running around leading Uniteds press and providing tons of energy. He has gone on to make more than 200 appearances for United, winning one EFL Cup. McTominay is not expected to be the De Bruyne of his side, and now the Red Devils have that player capable of creating from deep in Christian Eriksen. The Baller has the following attributes to his personality. Something that has also come to light at Old Trafford. This facet of his game goes beyond just intelligent positioning and understanding the areas worth compaction, to an incessant desire to throw himself in the way. It has now been over a fortnight since McTominay last featured in United's win over Everton.. So with that, I analyze just how good Scott McTominay actually is, and whether or not we should be thinking of the Scottsman along the lines of @EBL2017, in line with the outrage sparked from the tweet, or somewhere in the middle. Mobility does not always translate into speed, particularly when needing to change direction. Traffic & Performance. McTominay has been an easy target for frustrated fans. This simultaneously allows Bruno Fernandes to stop dropping away from goal himself in the quest to pull the strings, and offers McTominay an exceptionally aware partner to play alongside in the midfield line. When fit, his name is the first on the teamsheet. This might require Fernandes to be sacrificed from the team, but against higher calibre opponents there could be a benefit to fielding two destroyers alongside each other in the one midfield. Hi there! "It's just more of the fact that my body was not ready at all. Hes yet to score goals, but he can. Hes not going to let you push him, or his teammates, around. Turquoise rings, in particular, are thought to keep away evil spirits. The problem McTominay faces is likely in his own distrust of his weak-foot, where hes often relying almost entirely on right-footed attempts when dribbling, decreasing the variety he can accumulate. The influence of two of the most successful football managers of modern times aside, Scotland manager Alex McLeish played an important role and was delighted with the midfielder's decision. The team is improving but on the other hand, for players who are not now in the team, we know they can, at any moment, come in and do the job. At the start of the season he and Fred were so poor at progressing the ball that Solskjaer devised a game plan for Uniteds defenders to completely bypass the midfield against Liverpool. Most expected Casemiro to slot straight into the Manchester United. Player Analysis. McTominay is still McTominay. Eventually he spots the run of Bruno and plays him in beautifully. Thats all the more true in defense, where Scott McTominay throws his body in the way of any situation. But after extensive efforts to drain the excess water and dry the pitch, the match was given the go-ahead. Signed from Real Madrid for a reported fee of 70m, the Brazilian gave Erik ten Hag something he seemingly lacked at that point in time - midfield structure. He knows the road: how you win games and finally how you win trophies. McTominay offers tenacity in midfield and ten Hag is getting the best out of him. Peculiarly, hes almost as successful with his long passes as he is with the simpler ones. But then out of nowhere, at the height of Scott McTominays resurgence, a fairly well established Twitter account tweeted about the glory of Scott McTominay, causing quite the stir among the tactics and analytics community. If teams are letting McTominay be, they have an extra defender to mark Pogba/Bruno. But it shows the manager trusts him more than his defenders which is not a bad thing for McT. Starting in a slightly deeper position also affords him the advantage of being able to step up when necessary, where hes completed 52.8% of his tackles this season (again in the top 4% of midfielders). They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. Hes no longer that same commanding presence that simply cannot be dribbled around.